Vehicle-wheel.



vJ'. K. LIBBY.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLIUATION FILED M1115, 1910.

A1, Patented Ang. 13, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J, E. LBBY. VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLIOATIOH FILED DBO. 15, 1910.

, 1 ,0375,297, mente@ Aug; 13, 1912.

2 SHEB'SmSHEET 2.

i UNITED STATES PATENT orunicE.

l JOHNIL LIBBY; or MALDEN, MAssAcHUsETTsa' VEHICLE-WHEEL.

.. To; all it may concemr Befit'known ytli'at-],'J'onn K. Liner, a citizen of vtheiUnited: States of America, 'residing atMalden, in the 'county of Middlesex 'andxState of Massachusetts, have invented certainnew and useful Improvementsiin Vehicle-Wheels, of which-the folwould beinflatedto the 'proper degree at thetimerof filling and the airconta1ned therein would be under a normal safe working pressure, yet frequently While -in use, either through 4changesl 'in temperature or otherwise, the air within the tube would expand to such an extent that it would burst the tire, particularly whenthe tire was subjected to the sudden strains and shocks such as Voccur in lordinary use, and especially with heavy vehicles. This bursting of the tire was a comparatively frequent occurrence andA was not only a source of great expense and trouble in repairing the damaged tire, or replacing it Vby a new one, but it has also been the-cause of many serious and fatal of the tire through the causes mentioned and to lengthen the liie of the tire by preventing the Iexpansion ofthe air confined therein f rom exerting injurious strains upon the t-ire.

To these ends my invention, in 4its best p form, consists ot' a vehicle wheel having a penumatic tire-whose interior communicates with' 'an elastic relief. chamber so that when the pressure of thenir in the tire increases said'air'is exhausted into the` relief chamber Specification of Letters Patent.'

Patented Aug-13, *1912.

Application filed December 15, 1910. Serial No.. 5975416.

thereby preventing an excessive or injurious=pressure from .existing 1n the t1re,and also sothat when the pressure of the air in relief chamber into -the tire therebyl preventing an excessive fall in pressure of the air in the'tire.

It will thus be seen that a distinguishing feature of my invention is the provision'oi means for-'automatically compensating Afor the variations in the temperature of the air within the tire so as to maintain said'lair under a normalsafe working pressure whatever causcs said variations. By this means I not only prevent the-bursting of the -tire through the expansion of 'the air contained subjected to injurious internal pressures that blows the tire receives 1n ordinary use.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

drawings, 1 represents-thehub of a wheel, 2

nccted by d. pipo 6 'with the-inner tube 7 of tire 4. At`its-1nner end pipe 6 is connected that extends through the outer wall of an annular-elastic tube-like lining 51 provided within the chamber -5, the nipple 9' being provided at itsinner end with a flange or head 10 between which and a shoe 12 the wall of lining 51 is tightly clamped by a low ring or tube of rubber surrounding the lhub 1, said tube being inclosed by a casing comprising a Asleeve 13 fastened by screws 14 to an end Wall or plate 15. 4This end wall 15 is fastened by screws 16' to the end ot hub 1 while the sleeve 13 is fastened by screws 1S to a flange 19 on hub l. 'lhe flange 19 serves as a fixedabutment for one side of lining 51 while a plunger Qll'movably mounted` uponhub l within casing 13-15 is yieldingly'held against-theopposite side of lining 51 by a plurality of springs 21 that are held in position by lugs or bosses 22 provided on end wall 15 and plunger 205 At its outer end the pipe G ifs-'connected by a union 23 with one end Iof a nipple-24 which extends through the tire falls air-*will be exhausted from the therein, .but I also prevent the tire being Y wouldA otherwise be caused by the shocks and .In the accompanying drawings -Figure' 1 1s a seotionalview of a portionof a vehicle 1 wheel embodying one form of mynventionw Figa 3 shows another formtot my invention.

l'laving-.reference -to- Figs. 1 and 2 of'the the spokes, 3 the felly,54 theftire and-5 the elastic relief chamber whose -interioris con'' nut 11. The elastic lining 51 may be a holby a u'nion 8 with one-end' of'a nipple 9.- Y

. -terior of sleeve 13 so that the inner face of l felly 3 and the Wall of tube 7. The end of nipple 24 within tube 7 is provided with a ange -or head 25 between which and a Washer 26 the wall of tube 7 is firmly clamped by a nut 27 screwed onto nipple 24.

The pipe 6 is made with a port 28 normally closed by a ball valve 29 that is yieldingly held on its seat 3() b a Yspring' 31. The port 28 is the interior o a branch pi e 32 which at its outer end is .exteriorliy threaded to receive upon it an interiorly threaded removable cap 33. When the cap 33 is removed an air pump may be attached to the threaded end of' branch-32 to fill tube 7, pipe 6 and chamber 5 with air under pressure, or the valve 29 may be manipulatedto release the air from said parts.

At the point where the nipple 9 extends through sleeve 13 the latter is made with an elongated slot 34 which is covered upon the inside of said sleeve by the shoe 12, said shoe being made longer and wider than slot 34 so that it may move to a considerable extent 'lengthwise of the .slot Without uncovering ,the latter. The, shoe 12 is slidably mounted in a groove 35 formed upon the inthe shoe is fiiish with the surface of the interior of' sleeve 13. The purpose of this shoe is to serve as a guard'or shield which prevents rubbing Contact between the edges of slot 34 and the adjacentwall of the rubber lining 51.

For convenience in handling and in assembling or disassembling the parts, the plunger 20 is connected by elongated links or eyes 36 with the wall 15, said links or eyes being made sutliciently long to permit plunger 20 to move freely back and forth within sleeve 13 as the elastic chamber 5 expands and contracts, but adapted when wall 15 is separated or removed from the other parts, to hold-plunger 20 in position against the ends of springs 21.

'Vhcn the tire 4 is properly inflated the plunger 2() will occupy an intermediate position as shown in Fig. 1, and if the temperature of the air confined in tire 4 is raised from any cause the expanding air will force its way into pipe 6 and chamber 5. This expands the chamber 5 and forces the plunger 20 outwardly in opposition to the pressure of springs 21, the air pressure in chamber 5 and tire 4 increasing slightly but only in proportion to the compression of springs 21. The increasel in the pressure of' the springs 21 due to compression is, however, definite and limited and while there will be Some increase in the pressure of the air in tire 4 as its temperature rises and it expands, the greatest possible rise in temperature under ortlinary circumstances will not be sufficient to injuriously strain the tire or cause it to burst. Moreover, when the temperature of the air in tire 4 is normal or otherwise any.

sudden strains or shocks are eushiaed and relieved by the springs 21 so that bursting of tire 4 from this cause is valso prevented. When the temperature of the air in tire 4 falls and the air contracts the springs 21 will force plunger 20 inwardly thus contracting chamber 5 and forcing air therefrom through pipe 6 into tire 4. It will thus be seen hat the chamber 5 with its springs 21 not 'only serves as means for preventin excess pressure in tire 4 but also as means go der pressure to said tire whenever the air pressure in the latter falls. In otherwords, the chamber 5 with its springs 21 hotonly automatically compensates for the `expansion and contraction of the air in tire 4 so as to maintain said tire full of air undera normal safe and effective or serviceable pressure, but it also serves to relieve the tire of the shock of sudden blows or strains.

AIn order to prevent undue ivear of' the rubber lining 51 as it is expanded and contracted the plunger 2O is made to closely fit the exterior of hub 1 and the interior of sleeve 13 so that no cracks or crevices are presented to said lining at these points. Owing to the tight fit o plunger' 20 vents 37 are provided through'the Wall of sleeve 13 through which air can pass into and out of the space behindplunger 20 as the latter moves hack and forth.

The pipe 6 is sufficiently flexible to permit the inner end thereof to move back and nular and laterally projecting flanges 41l which telescope with two annular flanges 43 provided ou a second ring 42 and, together with the said flanges 43, inclose an elastic r supplying air urilining consisting of an annular hollow rubbei` tube or ring 44. 42 are yieldingly pressed toward each other by a plurality of springs 45 interposedbetween the heads of' bolts 46 projecting from ring 38 and annular lips 47 on the tianges 43. The ring 38 is made with an aperture 48 through which extends a nipple 49, said nipple passing through the wall of lining 44 and being provided upon itsiniier end with a head between which and a Washer 50 said wall is firmly clamped by a nut 511. This nipple 49 is connected with the tire 'of the wheel in the same fashion as nipple 9 of Figs. 1 and 2. This form of my invention The two rings 38 andhas the advantage that it can be applied to ordinary wheels and by making, the middle Opening lof the ring 3S of a size to lit, or smaller than, the smallest hub, said opening may be turned out and thereby enlarged to ft any other size.

From the above description it will be seen that in Figs. l and Q'sleeve 13, wall 15 and 4hub l constitute one section of the elastic chamber and the plunger 2O the other section, While in Fig. 3 the ring 38 is one section of the chamber and the ring 42 the other section.

What. I claim is:

l. Av vehicle wheel comprising a pneumatic tire; an annular relief chamber on said Wheel and surrounding the hub thereof, said chamber comprising two annular relatively movable sections having an annular air chamber between them; means for yieldingly holdingl said sections against expanding movement, and a pipe connecting the interior of the relietl chamber with the interior of the tire. l

2. A vehicle wheel comprising a pneumatic tire; an annular relief chamber on said wheel and surrounding` the hub thereof, said chamber comprising` two annular sections havingr an annular air chamber be,-

tionary and the other sliding telescopically within the stationary section; means for' 'yieldingly holding the movable section against expanding' movement; an annular elastic lube-like lining for the relief chaml ber, and a plpe connecting the interior of l the relief chamber witli the interior of the" tire.

3. A vehicle wheel comprising a pneumatic tire; an annular relief chamber on said wheel and surrounding the hub thereof, said chamber being made up of two annular relatively movable sections having an annular air chamber between them and means for yieldinglyholding.)r said sections against expanding movement; an annular elastic tube-like liningr for the relief chamber, and a pipe connect-inel the interior of the elastic lining with the interior of `thc tire.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence ott-wo witnesses.

J OHN K. LIBBY. lVitnesses:

Guonon H. biol/Kinsman, Many E. Sima. 

